KARI GIBB/MDN Dallas Baptist University junior, Cody Grebeck (8) was walked then stole second and stole third safely (above) in the bottom of the second inning of play against the Bismarck Larks Friday in Minot.

The Bismarck Larks scored at least one run at the top of every inning of play except the second, third and seventh en route to the 7-3 win over the hosting Hot Tots. Both teams had only one error in the game.

The Minot Hot Tots trailed 1-0 at the start of the game and then took the lead with two runs in the bottom of the first inning of play. Minot would add another run at the bottom of the second for the 3-1 lead after three innings of play.

The Bismarck Larks would cut the lead by one run at the top of the fourth, tied the game with one run at the top of the fifth and took a 4-3 lead at the top of the sixth inning of play and would not trail again.

Minot was 8-for-32 at the plate. Jonah Shields was 3-for-4 while Adrian Dominguez was 2-for-4 batting. Anthony Potestio, Adam Berghult and Elias Fiddler each added a hit in the game. Griffin Shearon pitched four innings and allowed two runs on five hits with two walked batters and three strikeouts. Craig Schmich pitched four innings and allowed five runs on ten hits, no walked batters and four strikeouts along with a solo home run in the eighth inning. Kaden Arn pitched one inning and allowed two hits and one strikeout recorded in relief.

Bismarck was 17-for-39 batting. Erick Dessens was 4-for-5, Kyle Hvidsten was 3-for-4 and Zach Daudet was 3-for-5 at the plate. Brady Krzciok was 2-for-4 while Cesar Franco was 2-for-5 batting. Only one Lark batter was hitless in the game. Luke Zimmer pitched five and one-third innings and allowed three runs on four hits, walked five batters and recorded two strikeouts. Matthew Porter pitched three and two-third innings and allowed four hits, walked one batter and tallied three strikeouts in relief

The Hot Tots travel to Bismarck to face the Larks Saturday, July 6, and back to Minot to host the St. Cloud Rox for two games on Sunday, July 7, and Monday, July 8, at Corbett Field.

The Minot Hot Tots are in sixth place in their division with a 12-24 overall record. They have wins over each team in the Great Plains West despite their standing after the first half of play for the 2024 season. The top team in each division has earned a playoff spot with the win totals earned through the first half of the season.

Currently, the Willmar Stingers are in the lead of the Great Plains West division of the Northwoods League with a 24-12 record. The St. Cloud Rox are in second with a 19-16 mark. The Bismarck Larks are at third place with a 19-19 record while the Mankato MoonDogs sit at 17-17 and the Badlands Big Sticks are at 16-19 overall.

In the Great Plains East, the La Crosse Loggers are in the lead at 22-13 with the Waterloo Bucks in second at 21-14 on the year. The Thunder Bay Border Cats sit at third with a 19-17 mark while the Duluth Huskies are fourth at an 18-18 mark. The Eau Claire Express are in fifth place with a 16-20 mark. The Rochester Honkers sit at sixth with a 13-24 mark while the Minnesota Mud Puppies are a 1-14 for the season.

The Great Lakes West division is led by the Wausau Woodchucks with a 28-8 mark. The Madison Mallards are in second place with a 25-11 record. The Lakeshore Chinooks are in third place at 17-19 while the Wisconsin Rapids Rafters are at fourth place with a 16-19 mark. In fifth place with a 13-22 record are the Fond du Lac Dock Spiders while the Green Bay Rockers are in sixth place with a 14-24 mark.

The last division is the Great Lakes East and the Rockford Rivets are sitting atop the division with a 28-10 record. The Battle Creek Battle Jacks are in second with a 20-18 mark. The Royal Oak Leprechauns are tied with the Battle Jacks with the same record. The Kalamazoo Growlers are at 19-18 in fourth place. The Traverse City Pit Spittles atre in fifth place with an 18-20 mark. The Kenosha Kingfish sits at sixth place with a 16-22 mark while the Kokomo Jackrabbits are in seventh with an 11-26 record.